Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera

11.13.2012

in the road... not in the lane

when I ride my bike my primary concern is to arrive at my destination alivearrive alive? yes... arrive aliveit does not sound like muchbut it is important to me although this is clearly not important to the people driving cars around mearriving alive is important to me

so...when a frustrated car driver honks a methe driver makes one of those facesor offers up some sign language that you don't need to know ASL to interpretwell... I do not care

as they do not understand... they are selfish, ignorant, and short sighted

I am riding in a way that hopefully puts me where I am most safethere is a method to my madnessthe zipping back and forth the weaving in and out of traffic

all that is not an effort to have funit is an effort to be fast, fluid, efficient, and safe

at times there is a bike lane presentI do not always use it

there are a multitude of reasons why not to use the bike lane

the primary reason... the bike lane is not necessarily a sanctuary

the car culture does not seem to understand and respect the bike lanes enough to make that space any more safe than the road itself

and then... then there is the design

the placement of the bike lane in the door zone

and the way that the bike lane crosses alleyways, driveways, and service roadsthe bike lane is not always the most safe place to be

and then... there is the issue of speed

how fast is rational and considerate when riding in the bicycle lane?

if a cyclist is looking to move at a rapid rate of speed

the bike lane may not be the best place for them to be

so much of the bicycle infrastructure is thinking of the slower cyclist

the faster cyclists need to take this into account

in the endCommon Sense and Common Courtesy should protect the cyclist... but it does not

the standard car driver does not obey the law

the standard car driver does not exhibit common sense or common courtesy

each and every time I get on my bicycle in the city I am at riska short trip to the corner store can have the white knuckled energy of a downhill mountain bike racea cross town jaunt can have the excitement of running with the bulls

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